


Survival game

by chaoticneurobivergent



Series: Keithtober 2018 [4]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Autistic Keith (Voltron), Fluff, I can't write actual spooky stuff so it's just cute fluff, M/M, POV Keith (Voltron), Pining Keith (Voltron)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-31
Updated: 2018-10-31
Packaged: 2019-08-11 12:09:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16475300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chaoticneurobivergent/pseuds/chaoticneurobivergent
Summary: quick questionI went to take the last box we had to move but he rushed to it in front of me. and when I said ‘my arms are strong enough to handle one more box’ he said ‘ooh I don’t doubt it’ and winkedis that flirting?Keith re-read his three texts, trying not to feel silly to ask - because other people didn’t have to ask their best friends what counted as flirting or not, but his own brain still didn’t fully got the concept. He didn’t have to wait long for Pidge’s answer to come.it’s only 8am srslyanyway like literally every other times you asked: yes Lance was flirting with youshitIt was only 8am, and Keith wasn’t sure he would survive the day.- the plan was to spend the day at a fair to help Shiro and Adam. Keith didn't think he would actually enroll in a game with ambiguous rules; go to a haunted house for break; and question boundaries he had set long ago.





	Survival game

**Author's Note:**

> originally written for **day 25 - haunted house** from klancehalloween's prompts  
>  it got longer than expected, so it's late  
> but it's a nice way to end Keithtober & celebrate halloween :D
> 
> [let's pretend the "00" are eyes emoji]

_quick question_

_I went to take the last box we had to move but he rushed to it in front of me. and when I said ‘my arms are strong enough to handle one more box’ he said ‘ooh I don’t doubt it’ and winked_

_is that flirting?_

Keith re-read his three texts, trying not to feel silly to ask - because other people didn’t have to ask their best friends what counted as flirting or not, but his own brain still didn’t fully got the concept. He didn’t have to wait long for Pidge’s answer to come.

**it’s only 8am srsly**

**anyway like literally every other times you asked: yes Lance was flirting with you**

_shit_

It was only 8am, and Keith wasn’t sure he would survive the day. He had told himself the same thing when he woke up two hours ago and drove to the fair while the sky was still dark, the sun barely rising up behind him. He only found his way to Shiro and Adam’s stand because they were keeping the same spot than last year, and the year before, and literally every october since they started doing this. And Keith had been helping since then, too. They were usually more to help, but this year most of the couple’s friends weren’t in the city, so it was just them two, Keith, and Lance. Pidge, Hunk and Allura were supposed to come in the afternoon, but none of them were available to spend a whole morning setting up a coconut shy stand and welcoming visitors. But Lance had jumped on the opportunity, especially when Shiro mentioned he would pay them back in tickets for the haunted house.

Keith told himself he wouldn’t survive the day when the first colors started to paint the sky, and Lance’s bright smile became clearer, taking over half his range of vision wherever he looked - Lance always happened to be there, even when Keith wasn’t searching for him. And Keith told himself he wouldn’t survive the day for the third time right there, right after Pidge’s text confirming what he was afraid of.

**the actual question is: do you want to flirt back?** **00**

_Yeh_ , Keith thought as he looked down at the notification, _I’m just gonna ignore this one_ . He put his phone deep in his pocket, and walked back to help Shiro right after taking another look to be sure to go away from where Lance was laughing with Adam - and burying down the thought of _that’s a pretty laugh_ because he knew that already or- wait- whatever.

 

Slowly, the crowd started to grow inside the fair, and Keith found a shelter behind the counter. He had been able to say hello to the first visitors, even smile and explain the game in a not-too-confusing way, long enough to feel proud of himself. But now people were coming in packs, and Keith started to wish he hadn’t forgotten his earplugs. Keith stared at the group of six teenagers walking straight at them, then glanced at Adam who seemed to be handling everything just fine, tried to take slow steps towards the end of the counter… and crouched down right there.

He could have left completely, but he just needed a small break - also he didn’t feel like leaving Adam all alone, maybe the high schoolers were going to be a pain in the ass and in this case, well, he could get up and deadly stare at some of them just long enough to calm them down without making them go away. He sat down more comfortably against the wood, and took a book out of his pocket. Nice. Two paragraphs in, Keith even thought maybe he _would_ survive the day.

The lack of earplugs, or at least some earbuds, was hard. Keith winced when the group finally reached them and everyone started shouting at the same time. At least he didn’t have to actually understand their words, at least he was free to focus on the firm ground besides him, on the feel of the paper on his fingers, on the.. the fingers tapping just on top of his head? When Keith leaned forward to look up, surely he found Lance’s face glancing up at him.

“Hey, man!”

“Hey.” Keith stood up, resting his arms on the counter just besides Lance’s. “What’s up?”

“I was wondering where you went to. Couldn’t see your mullet anymore.”

“Yeh, I impulsively started a ‘hide and seek’ game all by myself.” Keith deadpanned.

Lance laughed a bit and keep the smile on his face. “Guess I won.”

“No, you weren’t a player.”

“I found you, though.”

“But it doesn’t count.”

“Does it?”

“It does not.”

“Pretty sure it does.” Lance was grinning, and Keith was ready to explain that it was simple facts: you couldn’t win a game you weren’t playing in the first place, but Lance took him off guard and shrugged “Doesn’t matter, I still feel like a winner.”

Keith’s heart started racing in his chest, but his mouth didn’t get the message in time - that they were panicking, therefore no decision should be made - because he asked, with a voice so small and so afraid: “Because you found me?”

And Lance replied “Exactly.” with a smile still as soft as the quiet hours during which the sun rises, and Keith’s cheeks were probably as pink as the 7am sky. It just got worse - _he_ just made it worse - and he totally lost this round - not that he was playing in the first place. “Do you..” Lance started to ask, but in a second Shiro was next to Keith and ruffling his hair, cutting off his question.  

“You can take a break, you know.”

Keith took his hand away and looked back at him. “I know.”

“Then take it. And I mean, an actual break, away from the stand.” Shiro’s arm reached in his direction again, but this time stopped in front of his eyes, just between Lance’s and his faces. Two tickets stood proudly between his fingers. Keith didn’t have to ask to know it was for the haunted house, and considering how excited Lance started to get, neither did he.

“You don’t have to do that, I would have helped anyway.”

“I know. It’s my pleasure. This haunted house is-”

“So well done” Keith continued “and every year they change the twists, and it’s really awesome, yeh.” Keith sighed, mostly for the drama of it all. Shiro loved this haunted house and all the work there were behind it. He gushed about it every year, but Keith never actually tried it. He still took the tickets, because Lance was almost jumping now and his smile was so big Keith wondered if it hurt, and because it was free stuff - what was he gonna do? say no?

Shiro was grinning, and Keith knew he was trying to stop himself from telling yet another story about the haunted house. “Have fun!”

And just like that, Keith was being pushed on the side until he was outside, and Lance was pulling him by the elbow as he shouted back “Oh, we will!”

 

Perks of the haunted house, was that they wouldn’t be in the middle of the crowd growing stronger and louder every minute. Keith liked the season, and not only because his birthday was near, but also because the weather was sweet - the fresh air against his cheeks was fortifying, and walking on crunchy leaves never lost its fun. Besides, Keith could just bury his nose in his scarf whenever he wanted to feel a semblance of distance between others. Lance had slowed down at that gesture, now walking almost hesitantly - but still holding Keith’s sleeve forward.

He stopped to look directly at Keith. “Don’t make this face, it’s really gonna be fun.”

Keith didn’t doubt it would be fun - never did -  and that was kind of scary to admit, even if it was only to himself. He wasn’t particularly fond of haunted houses, but who cared at this point? _Of course_ it would be fun, because he was hanging out with Lance.

“Maybe.” That seemed enough for Lance who started walking again. “But I’m pretty sure it’s just going to be a regular haunted house which isn’t actually terrifying.”

“You don’t know that.” Lance was fighting their way through the crowd, mumbling excuses when they bumped into people and tightening his grasp. Keith stared at his neck, trying to ignore everyone around them, and followed into his steps. It would have been more convenient to just hold hands, Keith was aware, but he sure wouldn’t be the one to do that, ever. Because sure Lance was apparently actually flirting with him, but Keith decided long ago to not get his hopes up.

“They’re all the same. They don’t really play with your fears, they just use surprise!”

“And what?” Lance laughed. “You say you can’t be surprised?”

“I say I can’t be surprised! It’s always obvious.”

Lance snorted. He slowed down again, and this time Keith could see big bloody letters writing “haunted house” just in front of them. It looked good from the outside, at least. Instead of something cheap in plain orange and black, the decor displayed doors which looked like actual wooden doors from some expensive old mansion.

“I’m serious.” Keith added as they stopped. “It’s all fake anyway, do you really expect to be scared?”

“Sure it’s fake, but movies are fake too and they still got me. I think this can get you, too.”

“We’ll see about that.”

There were black sheets falling from the roof just behind the doors, and as soon as they crossed them, they were welcomed by silence and darkness. A few lights came from the sides, and they looked like little fairies who showed them the way towards another pair of closed sheets. But they were barely spreading enough light to be able to see. Keith’s eyes, at least, were struggling to adjust, so he stepped closer to Lance.

“Scared already?” he asked. And as they approached the next sheets, just next to a grouping of fairies, Keith was able to turn his head towards Lance’s voice and actually see his smirk.

“No.” Keith walked past the black sheets.

“Wait for me!”

On the other side, it was just as dark. All the fairies being replaced by a low red light here and there, just enough for them to see the way and webs all around them. Keith had only walked first as a power move, but he sure hoped Lance would join him soon to take the lead again - because he felt already lost in the small maze. The music started, deep and low at first, until a skeleton fell just in front of their faces in a flash of lights and the crackling sound started a disharmony of others - whispers and cracking filling the air. Along with Lance’s own laugh, clearly the loudest in the space. Keith tried to move on when a sudden lightning startled him - just surprise, again - and when Keith turned towards where it was coming from, he bumped straight into a closed coffin.

“Don’t die yet.” Lance was still half-laughing and Keith was pretty sure he had seen all the scene. He reached for his wrist and tug. “Come on, it continues on the left.”

Keith had to admit: the haunted house was well done. The music evolved smoothly through the house, always setting a new kind of spooky atmosphere - Keith didn’t even know “spooky” could have that many nuances. He didn’t bumped into more coffins, or more anything, and he was even able to see Lance jumping and hissing like a cat when a zombie touched his shoulder. They were stumbling when they crossed the last set of sheets, setting them free and back at the front of the haunted house. The light was blinding, but Keith had already squinted his eyes anyway when he started laughing at the last sound trick - a growing howling, like a werewolf’s, coming from afar, and steps of the imaginary pack coming closer and closer, until the fresh air hit their faces. It was a nervous laugh as all of this worked enough to give him goose bumps - but he won’t say that to anyone.

“Oh man, that was so cool!” Lance was panting next to him as they literally ran out of there.

“It was. The fuck.”

“I told you!”

“I was still right: it was mostly surprise.”

“Sure,” Lance started, and his voice said ‘danger’ so Keith frowned, waiting for whatever he was going to say, looking as smug as ever. Lance leaned towards him, and made sure he had all his attention when he stated: “but surprises which made you scream.”

“I didn’t.”

“Oh you so did. Third room, when those fake flames started right before us.”

Right. Keith wanted to forget about that. It took him off guard! What kind of haunted house go that far than put screens and high flames and the sound of the fire feeding on the wind and cracking wood. He was pretty sure he had clenched Lance’s arm, maybe even dug his nails in his jacket. “It’s cheating, fire is scary,” he mumbled as he looked down.

“That’s not cheating, that’s the point.”

“Whatever.” He glanced around, the crowd was way less heavy than before and he could see clearly the stands near them. “Let’s get some food, I’m hungry.”

They bought crepes and found a bench to sit on while they ate. With everything, Keith totally forgot about lunch. And now he had forgotten he was technically there to help and work, not to chill and laugh with Lance - but he thought he deserved the long break, he was up since 6am after all, and Shiro was the one who almost forced him to leave.

Lance should have been thinking of the same thing. “We should go back.” he said.

“Hm. Yeh we should.” Now that he was done eating Keith pulled his scarf back up. He was getting lazy. He really didn’t feel like going back, seeing people, smiling at them, talking to them, listening to them. It was too much work, and just being there, even with the air getting colder, felt way sweeter. But Lance was right. They had been gone long enough.

“But…” Lance started, and his voice was suggesting mischief - Keith liked that. “the others are probably here, now. So…” There was chocolate in the corner of Lance’s mouth, and he stopped in his sentence to finish the last bite of crepe before he finally got to the point. “Do they _need_ our help? I don’t think so.”

“What are you suggesting?”

“I say, we could go back to the haunted house instead.”

 

Perks of doing the exact same haunted house a second time, was that Keith knew to expect the flames. So he wouldn’t have had the same reaction anyway, but when they entered and Lance said “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you from the scary fire.” Keith just let him step slightly in front of him. Their shoulders were brushing as they walked and discovered the maze all over again. Lance still laughed at the first skeleton, and Keith would have bumped into the coffin if Lance hadn’t taken his hand to guide him towards the right direction. His hold was soft, but Keith didn’t even try to get away - Lance didn’t let go either. The fire was still impressing. Though, as promised, Lance reached forward and hold his arms out between the screens and Keith as they walked past it. He kept glaring at the pictures and murmuring aimless “ssssh” at the sounds, until Keith started laughing so Lance declared his job done and led the way.

The first time Keith bumped into Lance, he didn’t question it - they were walking so close, and he knew he tended to walk faster without realizing it sometimes. But when it happened a second time, and Keith found himself pushed into Lance as the latter almost stopped right before him, he figured his own walking speed wasn’t to blame. “Why are you slowing down?”

“I’m pretty sure there’s someone showing up soon.”

Keith frowned. “No no, I remember when we passed there.” He started walking again, pretty slowly still so Lance could follow his steps. “See, they make you feel like there’s gonna be _something_ ,” he said with confidence, walking backwards now, “they raise the tension with the music, but _then_ -” Keith screamed - probably louder than the first time with the fire. He jumped and stepped back next to Lance, grabbing his hand in the process and crunching. He hadn’t lied, he really _didn’t_ remember anyone on this part of the maze. But here they were: a ghost crossed in front of him, their white veil flying behind them as they snickered and touched Keith on their way.

When Keith dared to look, the low light let him see how Lance was pressing his lips to not burst into laughter.

“But then?”

Keith stared at him, but the way he was still squeezing Lance’s hand betrayed his embarrassment. “Shut up.”

His confidence didn’t fully went back for the rest of the way, and he kept looking back at Lance in case he remembered another thing Keith didn’t - but it all went smoothly. Lance didn’t even make more fun of him until the werewolves sounds were behind them, and they were back under the warm colors of the sky.

“This is so funny. You probably made this person’s day with how you were rambling, so certain there was _nothing_. I know you made my day, at least.”

“He tricked me on purpose.”

“Aaw” Lance leaned closer into his space, so Keith instinctively dove down in his scarf - both to build a fake defense and hide his blush. “Would you have rather a treat? I’ll buy you another crepe to make up for it.”

Keith wasn’t sure how he felt about the direction this day was taking, but it was free stuff, so, he couldn’t just say no, right?

They found another bench and stayed there until their crepes were long gone and they lost track of time. Keith figured someone would have contacted them if they were needed, and considering there was nothing on his phone, he was allowed to enjoy the rest of the day free of customer care.  When the sun start setting down, Keith lend Lance his scarf - and maybe he purposely didn’t ask for it back when they split up because it suited Lance, and Keith felt safe enough to drop his guard. He was still smiling when he went back into his room, and his heart still on the road, racing so fast Keith figured that was death - but a sweet kind of death.

 

_quick question_

_he bought me stuff and when I dropped him off at the end of the day I pulled him back to kiss his cheek as a good night_

_was that a date?_

**so that’s where you two were**

**a date is really just an agreement between two people, but I’ll still say: yes you and Lance just got on a date**

_shit_

**actual question now: do you wanna do it again?** **00**

Keith didn’t ignore this one.

_hell yeh_

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading!! I hope you enjoy this one-shot, don't hesitate to comment and/or leave a kudo!


End file.
